Machi's Time
by darkvoid55
Summary: Three months after Machi was granted freedom thanks to the lawyering of Apollo Justice, he finds himself homeless, playing piano at a local coffee house twice a week. What would happen when he's re-united with Trucy and love begins to blossom?
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note** **/Background** **:** This story takes place three months after Turnabout Serenade, in between Apollo Justice and Dual Destinies. SPOILERS for Apollo Justice. Machi is 14 and Trucy is 15. There was a lot left open about Machi, like why he needed money from smuggling a cocoon, and what happened to his parents so I wanted to tie them together, plus I just like the Machi and Trucy pairing and was disappointed by the lack of fanfiction for them. So enjoy_

"Did you hear that they're closing that dollar store on the other side of the town?" the obese man asked his little brother, carrying a heavy plastic bag filled with garbage.

"No way!" his little brother exclaimed, struggling to carry the trash bag to the bin. "I love that place."

"Just seems like nothing ever lasts, does it? At least there's the other dollar store that we haven't been to in years."

"No, that one closed too!"

"Wait what…what?! That's…that's crazy!" Finally, the two brothers approached the trash bin in the alleyway. "Hey, just dump it out and keep the bags, Pauline's not gonna be able to get back to the store until tomorrow."

The two of them opened the bin and held the bags upside down, dumping grime and sludge into the bin, and slamming it shut. "That takes care of that," the little brother said as they walked off.

Machi Tobaye slowly opened the lid. After a long pause, he spit out a wad of old mashed potatoes and hopped out of the garbage bin. He walked out of the alleyway, looked both ways and ran across the road. He scurried across the sidewalk, hoping there would be nobody would see him. The good thing about the early hours of the morning was there were less people around. They'd pull him aside, ask him "Are you that pianist who plays with Lamiroir?" and "Aren't you blind?"

He'd pretend he didn't know what they were talking about. He had no other choice. Not if he wanted to see them again.

He was running so fast, so lost in thought that he didn't see what was ahead of him. "Oofh!" an old man cried after Machi ran through him like a truck.

Machi quickly came to a stop, attempting to catch his breath. He turned around and saw a large old man on the sidewalk, lying in pain. _Shit!_ he thought to himself. "Are you ok?" he asked the old man, extending his arm.

The old man grabbed his hand, and they finally got a look at each other. Machi felt a tug in his stomach as he realized whom the old, bald man was.

"Hmm?" the judge scratched his white long beard. Before he could put a name to the familiar face, Machi sprinted off.

Machi continued his sprint all the way to the front of the local gym, where he stopped to catch his breath. He turned the handle to the door – damn, locked. They usually forget to lock it at night, this time he wouldn't be so lucky. He pulled a pick out of his pockets and pried it open, heading inside.

He took a shower and changed into clothes he found at the lost and found. It was then that he heard voices. Someone was entering the gym – this wasn't good at all.

"I'm telling you, Jim. That new movie was the best I've seen in twenty years," one man said.

"Uh…Frank. Did you forget to lock up last night?"

They didn't usually arrive for two more hours. This was certainly bad. They were coming closer…who knows what they were going to do when they found that he broke into the gym and stole clothes?

"Hey…hey…there's a kid on the floor!" Frank said, looking at the pianist out on the ground, dressed in a blue sweater and black sweatpants. He rubbed his hands on the back of his head, feeling his warm body.

Jim approached the boy and gasped in shock. "Oh…that's not good. Let's go call the cops."

The two of them walked off to find a telephone. When the coast was clear, Machi made a dash out of the gym. Now he was hungry. He ran to the nearest McBurgers and pulled out his wallet. As he approached the fast food joint, a black sudan with tinted windows pulled up from behind.

Two tall man rushed out of the building. "Money! Now!" one of them yelled. Machi looked at them and noticed they both had knives in their hands. As he began to open his wallet, one of them grabbed the wallet and the other one shoved him to the ground. Before he had time to react, they both hopped back in the vehicle and sped off.

He was still hungry. He had to eat, and he knew what to do. He walked in the restaurant and waited for someone to order. A black woman ordered an iced coffee and sausage biscuit with hashbrowns, as well as a breakfast kids meal for her young daughter. Machi waited for them to take their seat before he approached them.

Why couldn't he be honest? Why couldn't he tell her the truth? That he was a homeless orphan who had just gotten the only twenty dollars to his name stolen. It could have been his pride, but he wasn't at all prideful. Maybe he just had some sort of mental illness. He just could not tell the truth like a normal person could.

"There's someone outside look for you guys," he told the mother and daughter.

The mother scrunched her face, starting to open her bag of food. "Hm? Who would be looking for us?"

It wasn't working. Maybe he should wait and find somebody else…no. He would not give up. "I think he said something about wanting kid," Machi said.

The woman shut her bag and stormed up from her chair. "Albert! I told him again and again…stay here a minute, baby doll," she said to her daughter before storming out of the eatery. "Albert!"

Three minutes later, the mother returned to her table. "Albert's not out there, who was that little…baby doll, where did our food go?"

Machi sat against a brick wall at with the crumbled up McBurger's bag at his side. He pulled a locket out his pants pocket, and opened it up to gaze at her. She was a beautiful woman, with long, silky blonde hair and big blue eyes that looked like his. He couldn't stand that he could do nothing for her. He couldn't stand to not be near her.

That was it for him; nothing but feelings of helplessness and loneliness all the time. Nothing but sorry, nothing but remorse for feelings of what he had become.

But at night, those feelings would go away.


	2. Chapter 2

That evening, Machi climbed onto the stage of the Sugar Rush Coffeehouse, where the piano was already set up on the far left corner. A few people sat at the tables, silently chatting. Machi was sure that more would come soon; they always did for open stage night. Tuesdays and Thursdays, anybody who wanted to could take the stage. They could do whatever they wanted for five minutes, and whoever put on the best performance would win a cash prize of thirty dollars. That was Machi's income. If he won, he could eat for a few days. If he lost, he went hungry or resorted to theft.

But he usually won.

He took his seat on the table towards the back of the room. "Machi? Oh hey, you didn't tell me you were here," Marcus Daham said, a wet washrag in his right hand. He was a man in his mid-forties, and had long, brown hair and baggy cheeks. "I forgot to tell you…this is the last time I'm letting you enter the competition," he said.

Machi didn't understand. "W-why…? Why would you do that to me?"

"Don't worry, Renaldo is getting the same treatment," Marcus said. Renaldo Foxx…the one teenager who is able to beat him in the Sugar Rush competition. "You win almost every single week. It's time to retire and let some others have their moment in the sun. Don't worry…I'll let you play again, maybe in a few months or so? It's more interesting to me this way, anyway. Come on. Don't look at me like that! You act like you can't get your parents to give you an allowance or something."

"Just what is going on…?" Renaldo asked, approaching the two with clattering steps.

"Renaldo, we need to tal-" Marcus began to say.

"What is it? Are you going to tell me that my beautiful singing will not be allowed to perform on your stage anymore?"

"Well…uh…yeah. That's exactly what I was going to say."

Renaldo nodded his head, his light brown eyes sparkling. "Very well," he said, putting his face up to Machi's. "I will enjoy the satisfaction of beating you one last time."

Meanwhile, the Wright Anything Agency was just about to close for the evening. "Thank you miss," Apollo Justice told the potential client. "We've gotten all the information we need to know."

"I…I can't pay much, but I would love for you to take my case," she said. "Thanks again! Goodbye!" She hurried out of the agency.

"So…are we uh…you know, taking her case?" Apollo asked Trucy and Phoenix Wright after a long pause.

"If you want to, Apollo," Phoenix said, clearly disinterested in the whole situation. "I'm going to go for a walk."

"Wait, daddy! Aren't we going to get something to eat?" Trucy asked. "I'm _staaarving_. A growing girl needs her belly full, you know!"

"Aren't we going to get something to pay the electric bill?" Apollo rebutted. "Like…something green?"

"Like…steamed broccoli with ranch sauce?" Trucy suggested.

"Ok…Mr. Wright, why don't you decide? Food or pick our next client?"

Phoenix put his finger on his chin, and looked at both Apollo and Trucy. "Let's go to that coffeehouse down the block from here. I'm pretty hungry myself."

"Yes!" Trucy cheered. "Score one for the magical panties!" she boasted to Apollo.

The coffeehouse was now packed full of customers and participants, ready to enjoy a meal and watch some good old entertainment. Marcus Daham grabbed a microphone and began to speak as the crowd petered out.

"Ooh! It's starting now!" Trucy whispered. "Quiet, Polly! Don't you know to not talk during a talent show?"

"It hasn't started yet! And I wasn't even saying anything…"

"Welcome Sugar Rushers!" Marcus greeted the crowd of about twenty or thirty people. "It's time for your favorite time of the week, open stage night! You all know the rules. Raise your hand to get up here on the stage, and you've got five minutes to do whatever it is you do best. At the end of the night, ya'll will use those little cards on your desks to cast your votes and place them on the box up here. The winners gonna take home thirty dollars cash!"

The crowd cheered and clapped, and Marcus waited until they settled down to continue. "So, without further ado, who would like to go first!" His eyes scanned the crowd where about four people raised their arms. "Ah yes, Machi!" he said, pointing to the blonde pianist.

"Did he just say…?" Apollo asked.

"Machi?" Trucy muttered in surprise.

"You guys know a Machi?" Phoenix asked.

"That…that's him," Apollo said as the Borginese pianist walked on stage. It had been three months since the murder case that took place at a Gavineer's concert. Machi Tobaye was wrongly convicted of the crime, but thanks to Apollo Justice's lawyering, he was declared innocent and only charged a misdemeanor of cocoon smuggling. Unfortunately, he is unable to return to his homeland of Borginia, while Lamiroir has seemingly vanished from the face of the earth, leaving him alone.

"He was a client of ours," Apollo explained.

"Oh wait…that's her son…" Phoenix muttered.

"Who's son? What are you talking about, daddy?" Trucy asked.

Phoenix snapped back into reality, shaking his head. "Ah…nothing."

Machi began to play a beautiful piece on the white piano. His fingers skillfully hopped across the keys like magic as the audience began to clap along with the wonderful melody.

"He's really good," Trucy commented, beginning to clap along herself.

The claps got louder and louder as Machi continued to marvelously play the piano for the next five minutes. Trucy had never seen anything quite like it; she remembered seeing Machi play live at the Gavineer's concert, but it was nothing like this. Her mind then was on Gavin, Lamiroir's voice and the entire experience; but seeing Machi perform live…it melted her heart.

The amazing performance finally ended, and the audience came to a wide applause. Machi left the stage to make way for a few more performers, but between stand-up comedy, a fellow pianist and a guitar player, none of them compared to his piano performance. That was until Renaldo Foxx took the stage.

"Who's this guy…?" Apollo asked.

"What did we go over about talking during performances, Polly?" Trucy reminded him.

"Everyone give it up for Renaldo Foxx!" Marcus yelled, and the audience cheered for the sixteen-year-old, medium-sized boy with short brown hair and matching eyes as he took the microphone in his hands.

" _I've tasted blood and I didn't spit it out_

 _Those words they said to me I've never cared about_ "

"So is he like a vampire…?" Apollo commented.

" _Every day I fight_

 _Every day I crawl_

 _Every days a fire burning deep in my bones_

 _I'm waking now_

 _Feel the flames, feel the fury, feel the passion_

 _Burning deep within, let's make it happen, let's make it work, let's make something better than what we used to have_

 _I've tasted blood and I didn't spit it out_

 _Cause I know what I am and I know just what they've said._ "

The audience began to clap along to him and stomp their feet.

"He's good alright," Phoenix said.

"I still don't understand the song…" Apollo said.

Trucy's mouth widened in surprise. "You've never heard of _The Blood Fight_? It's only like…the most popular song right now."

"I can't say I listen to much music," Apollo replied.

"Me neither…" Phoenix Wright added.

The boy was incredible, and the audience loved the fast-paced, emotional song. He had put a lot of heart into it, and it showed. He left the stage to an applause even louder than what Machi got.

At the end of the open stage night, all twelve performances walked on stage as the votes were counted. "Who did you vote for? Who did you vote for?" Trucy bothered Apollo and Phoenix.

"Oh…uh…I liked Machi's performance, I guess," Apollo said.

"Yay!" Trucy quipped. "That's two votes…who did you vote for daddy?"

"…Oh," Phoenix muttered, snapping back to reality. "The…uh…the guy who sang the blood song."

"Daddy!" Trucy exclaimed. "You were supposed to vote for Machi! …We're supposed to stick up for our clients, even after our case is over."

"But he wasn't even on the case…" Apollo pointed out.

"The votes are counted," Marcus said over the quieting crowd. "In third place…Joey Lither and his comedy act!"

The crowd gave quiet cheers and claps as the young man raised his right arm.

"And…in second place…Machi Tobaye and his piano performance!"

The crowd cheered and clapped mostly, but a small part jeered the decision.

"Only second place?! Come on! This is rigged, right? Isn't it, Polly?" Trucy said.

"How would I know…!" Apollo responded.

Marcus grabbed his microphone as the crowd quieted down. "And…the winner of the thirty dollar cash prize…Renaldo Foxx!"

Machi sighed as the crowd cheered and cheered on the musician. "Yes! Hah! I told you, Machi! I told you I'd beat you one more time!" he gloated.

"Let's give them all a round of applause!" Marcus said.

It seemed it would be another day of lying and theft for Machi Tobaye. All he wanted to do was be honest, but it seemed impossible.


	3. Chapter 3

"I was so surprised to see you here, Machi!" Trucy said, approaching his table after the performance ended. He said nothing in return; he didn't even look at her. He simply rose from his table and pushed in his chair. "Machi…?" Trucy muttered.

" _Mich elkah looch kanika del dido micha nara heiser tenh bachs fallina_ ," Machi said to her, storming past the crowd of people beginning to leave the coffeehouse for the evening.

Confused, Trucy walked back up to her table. "Did you get to say hi to Machi for me?" Apollo asked.

Trucy crossed her arms. "He wouldn't even talk to me…" she said, obviously disappointed.

"Aw. Trucy has a little crush. That's cute," Phoenix said.

Her cheeks flared up in embarrassment. "Daddy! I do not!"

"You're acting the same way when you saw Klavier Gavin for the first time," her father responded with a chuckle.

"Didn't you call him cute before, back at the Gavineer's concert?" Apollo added.

"Ok…but even if I do, he's like…it doesn't even matter! Something was really the matter with him."

"Maybe he's just homesick," Phoenix suggested. "You know that he's not allowed in Borginia. And with Lamiroir nowhere to be found, he's probably all on his own."

"That must be terrible…" Trucy said. "Hey! Can we…you know…?"

:"I don't think so, Trucy," Phoenix responded.

Not yet defeated, Trucy turned her head to Apollo. "Polly! You have to do something!" she exclaimed.

"What? Mr. Wright barely pays me enough to take care of myself!"

"You want me to adopt him?" Phoenix said, scratching his chin. "Technically, Lamiroir has legal custody of him…I can't just adopt him…if you find him, I guess I'll talk to him," Phoenix said.

Machi sat outside on the sidewalk; his head leaned against the coffeehouse, his mind attempting to think of how he was going to get his money. He was hungry, but he was broke. That competition was his last chance to get some money, and he had failed, he lost. How could he have lost? How could he have failed? Why did it seem like everything he did, everything he tried to do…was just a failure.

"There you are!" Trucy said. Machi looked up and saw the magician, dressed in her usual blue attire and matching hat. She waits, then frowns when he says nothing. "Aw, what's the matter?" she asked.

Apollo reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. "Here," he said, opening it and pulling out a ten-dollar bill. He closed it back up and handed the bill to Machi, who examined it curiously.

"What this for?" Machi asked in his usual broken English. He had learned to speak the language much more fluently in the past few months, but still had a long ways to go.

Apollo scratched his head. "Well…you're on your own, aren't you? Put it to good use."

After a pause, Machi crumbled up the bill and threw it on the ground. "Hey! That's more than Mr. Wright pays me in a month!" Apollo complained.

"Machi, that wasn't very nice…" Trucy said as the young pianist rose to his feet.

" _Iche minicius del bach dem boolemia dem bach des fesh meanado minicius_!" Machi yelled before running off the street.

"What…what are we going to do, daddy?" Trucy asked. "We have…we have to help him."

"Nah, we don't," Phoenix said.

"W-what…? Daddy!"

"Machi is a resourceful kid," Apollo said. "He'll find his way around on his own. But hey…looks like something fell out of his pocket when he ran off."

The three of them looked to the ground below, as Apollo scooped up a small locket. Inside was a picture of a beautiful blonde woman, with large blue eyes. "Who…who is this?" Apollo asked.

"Give it back," Machi said, suddenly reappearing when he had realized just what he dropped.

"Tell us who it is, first," Apollo responded.

"Zech minajh mech del dem fero del tue et eash!"

"…"

"…"

"Come on, Machi," Trucy calmly said, looking into his big blue eyes. "We helped you before, we can help you again."

Something came over Machi as he looked at Trucy smiling over him. He felt as he never had felt before. He couldn't seem to put a finger on it but it felt…odd, yet comforting.

"She is mother," Machi said. "Do I really have say more than that?"

"Oh. Of course not," Apollo said, knowing exactly what it's like to not know his parents, as he handed Machi back to the locket.

"Machi, why don't you come back to the agency tonight?" Phoenix Wright suggested. "Seems like you guys could do some catching up."

Machi reluctantly nodded, fearing that he would have no other choice.

Back at the Wright Anything Agency, Machi explained to the trio about how after he used all the money he had saved up to pay his fines for cocoon smuggling, he was broke. He tried getting into contact with Lamiroir, but she vanished shortly after the LeTouse murder. He told them how lied to the police about living with an old relative on the far north side of the city.

"We'll make sure we find someone to take care of you," Apollo said.

"Yeah…you can stay with me and daddy!" Trucy suggested.

Phoenix scratched his chin. "Uh…I don't think so, Trucy."

"Well…why not? You heard him. He has nowhere to go. We can't just leave him here, daddy."

"Why don't we let him decide?" Phoenix suggested.

They all looked to where Machi had been standing. Just like that, he was gone.

Phoenix shrugged his shoulders. "Or…not."

Apollo Justice returned home that evening to see a small brown package on his front doorstep. _Wrong address_? he thought to himself. He brought the package inside and turned on the light. _Guess not…_ he thought as he read the label of the package, addressed from simply " _Someone you know_ ".

He carefully opened the package. Inside was a videotape as well as several papers neatly folded. _Custody papers_ , he realized. They were custody papers. They were custody papers to take parental guardianship…of Machi Tobaye.


	4. Chapter 4

Apollo read the papers over and over again, as confused as ever. _Did Machi send these?_ he asked himself. _No, no…that doesn't make sense_. He clutched his hair with his hands and sighed. Then, he remembered. _Oh yeah, the videotape_.

He took the video out of the plastic and put it in the television.

A blue folder in his left hand, Apollo knocked on the door to the agency early the next morning. "Trucy! Mr. Wright! Open up!" he shouted, slamming his fist on the door over and over again. Finally, the door opened as Phoenix and Trucy came barging out. "What is going on guys? What is wi-"

"Machi's been arrested," Phoenix said. "We're going to the detention center."

"W…what?!"

"This place sure does make me nervous," Apollo said, standing outside of the detention center.

"Why? Because when we enter it's always after a murder?" Phoenix said.

"Well…yeah, that's actually it."

"There's been no murder to the best of my knowledge."

"Machi…he would never…" Trucy muttered.

"Huh?" _She's been acting strange ever since this morning_ , Apollo thought to himself.

They made their way inside the detention center, and into the visitor's area. There it was they saw the man they were least expecting to see, along with Machi Tobaye.

"Y-you?!" Apollo exclaimed.

The judge turned around and jumped backwards, nearly hitting Machi with an elbow. "Aaaaaaah! Why, it's you three!"

"Surprising to see you here, your honor," Phoenix remarked.

"Oh hoh!" the judge cackled. "We aren't in a court of law at the moment. Please, call me-"

"What you three doing here?" Machi interrupted.

Apollo crossed his arms. "Actually, I wanted to ask you the same thing."

"Hmm…well, I received a letter last night. It told me that this child was in trouble, and to call the police. Funny enough it was you who nearly broke my hip just yesterday morning!" the judge responded. "Anyhow…I've got to get to the courtroom this morning for a trial. I suppose I've done my duties just as the woman asked."  
"Bye, your honor!" Trucy said as the judge departed the detention center.

"So…Lamiroir sent the judge a message too," Apollo muttered.

"What was that Polly?" Trucy asked. "Did you say…Lamiroir?"

"It's…kind of a long story," Apollo said, looking at the blue folder in his left hand. "I actually got a message from Lamiroir yesterday, myself…"

"You…you what?!" Machi exclaimed, his big blue eyes glowing like crystals. "Mr. Yoostis…I must see this."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Apollo responded.

"My time is quickly running out," Lamiroir said. "Do this, and I promise to one day reunite you with your mother. Do not do this and the end result will be horrifying for all of us."

The tape froze on the hooded musician. Apollo hopped off his sofa and made it two steps before there was a loud boom. He jumped back two feet and watched as the machinery went up in flames.

"She's…she's _threatening_ you?!" Trucy asked with fire in her eyes.

"Seems…uncharacteristic, to say the least," Phoenix commented.

"I'm sorry Mr. Yoostis, but that do not seem something that she would do," Machi said.

"…I forgot one part," Apollo said. "She…she handed over custody of you to me." "W-what?!" Machi took a step back in fright. "Ech Mechi Enn Heibhor Necha Tel Doo Cann Turwat Bahn Kaineh Turneah Ohma Mechi!"

"This is pretty…interesting," Phoenix said. "So did you already…?"  
Apollo nodded. "Yes. I already signed the papers."

"So…Mr. Yoostis…you are…stepfather?"  
"I…I guess so," Apollo said.

So, Apollo and Machi made their way home. Little did they know that Phoenix Wright had also gotten a video of his own from Lamiroir. He knew exactly what was going on. She had originally planned to allow Machi to serve his punishment for his misdeeds. But he was like a son to her; when she had gotten word that he was going to spend much more time in jail than anticipated, she had to help him.

"Thirty years…" Machi said on the phone.

Lamiroir said nothing back. There was a tear in her eye. She knew she had to do something. She did something she never thought she would need to do; she enlisted the help of the mafia. Machi's sentence was eventually eradicated after a series of legal exploitations and malpractice, but Lamiroir's debt remained unpaid. She was now forced to help the organization expand their reach into Borginia; forced to leave Machi on his own.

Until now. She had finally come up with a solution, a temporary solution. Soon enough, a man would come and fix everything. All Phoenix Wright had to do was bide his time, and say nothing.

The front door opened. "Machi, I'm home…" Apollo said. Moments later, Machi emerged down the stairs. "Phew. I thought you might have run off from me. After the way you slipped out like that at the agency...anyway, I went out and ordered a new bed, it should be here in a few days. I'll sleep on the couch until then; you can use my bed."

"So…what do we do now?" Machi asked.

"I'm…not sure. But actually, tomorrow…we're going fishing."  
"Fishing? I don't understand."

"You know…fishing?"

Machi shook his head. "We eat fish?"

"What…no!" _He's never heard of fishing?!_ "You…take a stick and you catch fish. I rented out a boat at Gourd Lake. It…it'll be easier for me to show you what I mean."

The front door opened again. Trucy ran in, dressed in a vest and fisherman's hat. "I'm ready to catch the biggest fish ever!" she exclaimed.

 _Haven't you ever heard of knocking?!_ Apollo thought. "You do know that the fishing trip isn't until tomorrow," Apollo told her.

"Yeah, but I thought I'd get in some practice today," Trucy responded. She threw back her fishing rod beyond her head and yanked it forward.

"Trucy!" Apollo yelled.

Machi swore in Borginese as the hook landed right on his head. "Oops!" Trucy exclaimed. "Let me…let me help you…"

The rod still in her hands, she walked closer to him. "Hold this," she told Apollo, who took the rod into his hand as she placed her left palm on Machi's shoulder. His entire body tensed up. Moments later he took a deep breath and relax, shutting his eyes as she pulled the hook out, causing a stinging pain. They both giggled.

"You guys…worry me sometimes," Apollo said. _First time I've ever seen Machi laugh before_ …


End file.
